Writer Guidelines ...

JOURNAL
of COUNTERTERRORISM & HOMELAND SECURITY INT'L
WRITER GUIDELINESThe Journal's mission. The objective of the IACSP is to provide
a forum within which security professionals can learn about terrorism
trends and counter-terrorism solutions, including security strategies,
management techniques, and new technologies. The Journal also provides
analysis of past terrorism events and offers possible solutions
to those events which may appear down the road.

A prospective author
should keep these goals in mind when developing story ideas. Our
Journal is a mix of analysis and hands-on information. Our readers
come from several areas: Law Enforcement, Government, Military,
EMS/HAZMAT, Fire Chiefs, and Corporate Security.

When choosing a subject and preparing an article, remember that
the story will be read by these industry peers throughout the
world and by those who subscribe to the Lexis Nexis data base
which is highly respected and international in scope.

Articles should be detailed enough to interest specialists in
the particular industry segment discussed, but an author should
define terms that would not generally be known by security professionals
in other industries.

The best articles are provided by security practitioners who write
about their everyday experiences and/or their current research
about a particular topic.

The key is to select a topic about which details and specific
solutions can be provided. Security professionals know what their
problems are and know generally how to solve them; a successful
author goes beyond the general and gives the reader unique, useful,
up-to-date, accurate information.

Lengths and deadlines. Articles should range from 2,500 to 3,500
words. It helps to conceptualize how the article will fit into
the magazine. It takes about 1,000 words to fill one printed magazine
page. If the topic you have in mind doesn't merit 2,500 words,
it is probably not appropriate for a feature article. Shorter articles
may be used as sidebars to longer pieces; however, not many sidebars
are accepted. The Journal usually publishes up to three sidebars/columns
per issue.

Tips Do not dwell on introductory or historical material. Think
of the magazine page as a classified ad, where each word costs.
Don't waste space on old news or information that is general knowledge.
Give the reader the main points and a clear idea of the story's
goals early on, then fill in the details. Close with a quick summary.
Where appropriate, include legal and legislative developments affecting
the topic.

Fact checking. It is okay to rely on newspaper and magazine articles
as a starting point for research, but this information should be
regarded as background that leads to primary sources and not as
the information on which the article will be based.

Authors have sole responsibility for the accuracy of the material
in their articles. All facts should be verified at the source.

Since the Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security
Int'l. is not a technical or scholarly journal, footnotes should
be avoided when possible. Information or ideas that are original
to the cited publication should instead be attributed to the source
within the text. For example, in an article about the pros and
cons of employing security officers, an author could write "According
to a study done by Forbes and published in its August 1993 edition,
99 percent of workers feel safer when security officers are present."

Use footnotes if you aren't sure how to fit the information into
the article. Editors will use that information as needed and will
make adjustments to fit the magazine's style.

Anything that is common knowledge doesn't need to be sourced.
Also, consider that most of the story should be original information.

When typing an article, provide all footnotes on a separate sheet
of paper at the end of the article.
Do's and Don'ts. A magazine article should take the readers from
one idea to the next in a logical, easy-to-understand way. Avoid
long sentences, jargon, obscure references, and tangential information.
Use bullets and lists sparingly to highlight important points.
An article full of bulleted or numbered points is nothing more
than an outline.

When making a point, support it with facts and examples. This
not only makes reading more enjoyable, it adds to the credibility
of the article.

Pictures. Making a point visually--using charts, graphs, and photos
is a quick way to get a reader's attention and ensure his or her
understanding of dry material, such as statistics. The author should
supply as many supplemental materials as possible to provide the
editorial and art staff flexibility in developing the best presentation
of the story's ideas.

Photographs can be submitted in either color or black-and-white
as 35mm slides, prints, or transparencies.

Charts, diagrams, and graphs must be simple and concise. If self-produced
by a computer program, send a copy on disk and a hard-copy printout.
Let the editors know what computer program was used to create the
files. If a chart is copied from another source, be sure to cite
that source completely. If a work is copyrighted, permission to
use it must be obtained.
All visual materials should be identified. Any material to be returned
should be clearly marked.

A short biographical sketch of the author and any co-authors should
be included with the manuscript. Each bio should include name,
title, and company, as well as any IACSP posts each author holds.

Make sure the name, address, telephone number, and fax number
of the person who should receive all correspondence regarding the
submission are on the cover page.

The IACSP holds first copyright rights which will be designated
to the writer one year after publication of the article in question.All
article submissions should be sent to: Steven J. Fustero, Dir.
of Operations at: iacsp@erols.com or mailed to: IACSP/Articles/PO
Box 10265/Arlington, VA 22210 USA